3 Venezuelan migrants staying at Gateway Hotel arrested

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — Three migrants staying at an embattled Downtown hotel that the County Attorney’s Office is trying to shut down were arrested earlier this week in a joint effort by El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents and El Paso Police, the Border Patrol said.

The incident happened at around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10 along the 400 block of East San Antonio Street.

Border Patrol agents encountered two females and one male from Venezuela who were staying at the Gateway Hotel, 104 Stanton St., Border Patrol said.

After further investigation, all three were determined to have been previously ordered to leave the country by an immigration judge.

The subjects, no ages given, were taken into custody and transported to a processing center for further processing under Title 8, Border Patrol said.

Earlier this week, a district court judge granted the County Attorney’s Office a 90-day injunction against the Gateway Hotel.

The hotel is alleged to be a “common nuisance” and a place where “habitual” criminal activity happens, according to a lawsuit against the hotel filed by the State of Texas and the County Attorney’s Office.

The County Attorney’s Office also says it is not seeking to close down the hotel because it has been taken over by a specific gang or criminal organization.

Residents at the hotel have until 10 a.m. Thursday to vacate the premesis. About a dozen organizations are helping people who live there find new homes, according to the County Attorney’s Office.

There will be a hearing on a permanent injunction on Dec. 9.

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